Unlikely Kosovo will field its own Olympic team

LONDON -- Kosovo's chances of fielding a separate team at the Beijing Olympics are "unlikely" despite the province's declaration of independence from Serbia, the IOC said Monday.

International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said Kosovo needs to be recognized by the United Nations as an independent state and meet various sports requirements before gaining Olympic status.

"At this stage we still have to see what that the U.N. decides," Moreau said. "It looks unlikely athletes would be able to compete in Beijing for Kosovo because of the very short period of time."

The Beijing Olympics run Aug. 8-24.

Five ethnic Albanian boxers from Kosovo are hoping to represent their homeland in Beijing.

Apart from U.N. recognition, Kosovo needs to have a recognized national Olympic committee and official ties with several international sports federations.

Once those criteria are met, the IOC executive board could endorse Kosovo's Olympic status. Final approval would come from the full IOC assembly.

"As we speak today, it is too early to say what will happen," Moreau said in a telephone interview from Lausanne, Switzerland. "It's quite early in the process. It's completely hypothetical. We will have to wait and see what the U.N. decides."